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Talk:Magic
I'd like to start some discussion on the various spells missing proper damage types, suffering other hold overs from 3e, general ambiguity, and/or having effects that seem inconsistent with other spells of the same group. Body Control Death Touch :Clarify that damage type is... something. Cosmic Toxic (for affecting things Immune to Metabolic Hazards) or non-incendiary Burning seem the two most likely. Possibly Corrosion, depending on how you figure it works - Corr has the benefit of dissolving everything physical, which is what Death Touch works on, and since you've possibly bypassed armor, there's no weirdness regarding how armor may or may not be dissolved. :Clarify if natural armor protects or not (I suggest not, the damage done is less than that done by Burning Touch and it doesn't have the funky effects of Shocking Touch). ::I'd vote for Corrosion damage, ignores natural armor. It bypassed Toughness in 2nd & 3rd editions, after all. --Mark 16:43, 7 April 2009 (UTC) Earth :Interestingly, this college lacks a "touch" spell, unlike the other elemental colleges. :Partial Petrification isn't quite the same thing. :Stone Fist seems like a natural fit here - does extra dice of crushing damage when you hit someone. Blocked by DR as per normal, but does double knockback? Earth to Water (or mud) :One cubic yard of earth turned to mud (or water) is actually a good lot of mud. The spell doesn't seem to work on "A cube of mud one yard on each side" - so turning a thinner layer of topsoil into mud over a larger area seems valid. :One hex covers an area of precisely 4.5 square yards. :Spread the cubic yard of mud 1' deep (enough to impose horrible combat penalties, I'm sure - that's mud over the tops of rubber boots) and it doesn't quite fill a hex (3 square yards vs 4.5). :Spread the cubic yard of mud 6" deep, and it covers 1 and 1/3 hexes. 6" deep mud is boot-eating mud, if not boot-filling. :Even 2" of mud would count as slippery ground, and that conveniently covers exactly 4 hexes. ::I'd rather clarify it to "a cube, 1 yard on a side". This makes the GM's brain hurt less and works better with other area spells. --Mark 16:43, 7 April 2009 (UTC) ::: Working in that direction, how about "One hex area, to a depth of one yard"? One cube, 1 yard on a side, doesn't actually fill a hex that's one yard across (top surface being 4.5 square yards, not one square yard, the difference is actually pretty dramatic).Bruno 17:23, 7 April 2009 (UTC) ::::I see your point. Sure. :I totally bolixed up my math. One hexagon covers an area of 7.79 square feet or 0.87 square yards. Not 4.5. I'm not sure where I got 4.5 from. The simplification of one hex, to a depth of one yard, is actually close to the "A cube, 1 yard on a side" so it's not even being buffed badly from the original. Bruno 19:12, 10 April 2009 (UTC) Fire Burning Touch :Clarify that damage type is specifically "burning" damage (fire damage is an obvious example, but isn't a damage TYPE. This annoys me). Necromancy Zombie :What do you need to maintain/repair/heal a Zombie, if you're a Necromancer? :: Healing? --Mark 16:43, 7 April 2009 (UTC) ::: The advantage? That works. For a necromancer who can repair the undead, but not the living, that sounds sort of like a Xenohealing enhancement ("All undead" roughly equivalent to "all Mammals" for +20%, vs "All non-life" equivalent to "All Earthly Life" for +40%. --Bruno 17:26, 7 April 2009 (UTC) ::::Well, I meant healing spells, but Healing with Xenohealing works, too. Turn Zombie :Suggestion: Allow Clerics to multiply the base cost to get multiple dice of damage on the zombies, and possibly a bonus on the "flee! flee in terror" roll. Cap at Clerical Power Investiture, or possibly PI/2. :I'd normally worry about doubling being too expensive, but the usual house rules about halving costs for damaging spells counteract it rather neatly. :Clarify if this works on Horde Zombies, ghouls, and other such things. If not, consider a Turn Greater Undead spell or suchlike. :: It should work on all Undead (now that we have an Undead type). Cap damage at CPI or Magery/2. --Mark 16:43, 7 April 2009 (UTC) ::: So it is accessible to Magery casters? I like giving Clerics better access. --Bruno 17:26, 7 April 2009 (UTC) ::::I can't see why "arcane" necromancers wouldn't have a spell to blow up undead, but I like giving clerics slightly better access to it. Animate Shadow :Instead of automatically passing out at 0 FP (as was correct in 3e whenever you ran out of FP) use the 4e rules, and have the Shadow vanish if you pass out. :Note that this is actually more dangerous to the victim, as he starts taking HP damage at a 1:1 ratio when reduced below 0 FP, and risks heart attacks if he really over-exerts himself. :It's less lame to players, because automatically being knocked out really sucks. That's probably why the FP rule was changed in 4e. :What happens if someone other than the victim takes meteoric iron to an Animated Shadow? :This is an interesting case where having good attributes penalizes you - High ST means the Shadow does ST-based damage to your FP. Normally GURPS has a strict policy regarding being really good at something not screwing you over. Weather :: I like your changes for Shocking Touch. The other questions... too hard! Someone else got some ideas? I think in general that lightning should do low damage, stun, and ignore metal armor. --Mark 16:43, 7 April 2009 (UTC) Shocking Touch :All the Touch spells bypass armor, so Lightning spells and their normal interaction with metal armor is a bit of a moot point. :Clarify if natural armor is bypassed as well or not (Burning Touch bypasses worn armor, but not natural armor). :However, Lightning type spells usually do stunning, and that's a pretty desireable side effect when you're a mage trapped in melee combat. :Suggest changing damage from 1d+1 to 1d-1 burning (surge) and use the same stunning rules as Lightning and Explosive Lightning. Spark Storm :Spell as listed "starts immediately, but the caster must concentrate for a number of seconds equal to the storm's radius in yards to bring the storm to full strength." :Suggest clarifying that the storm either starts in one hex and grows at one hex radius per second to the maximum radius paid for by the caster, or that the storm stars over the area and the GM figures out how to "ramp up" effects. Lightning strikes shouldn't start until it's at full strength, in that case. Wall of Lightning :Does this stun? How does it interact with metal armor? Ball of Lightning :Does this stun? How does it interact with metal armor? :The movement rate is reaaaaly slow, so as written it's like a very slow Explosive Lightning, minus the stun, surge, or armor penetrating effects, and a horrible half damage (speed). It doesn't even get better damage. :It does look cool, though. :I would say change Move to Skill/3, and give it the normal effects of Explosive Lightning when it goes off.